Cloud computing

Terms related to cloud computing, including definitions about on-demand, distributed computing and words and phrases about software-as-a-service, infrastructure-as-a-service and storage-as-a-service.

data center as a service (DCaaS) - Data center as a service (DCaaS) is the provision of off-site physical data center facilities and infrastructure to clients.
data center interconnect (DCI) - Data center interconnect (DCI) technology links two or more data centers together to share resources.
data center modernization - Data center modernization includes updating and improving a data center to meet the requirements of the current and the next generation of workloads.
data collection - Data collection is the process of gathering data for use in business decision-making, strategic planning, research and other purposes.
data lake - A data lake is a storage repository that holds a vast amount of raw data in its native format until it is needed for analytics applications.
data migration - Data migration is the process of transferring data between data storage systems, data formats or computer systems.
data portability - Data portability is the ability to move data among different application programs, computing environments or cloud services.
database as a service (DBaaS) - Database as a service (DBaaS) is a cloud computing managed service offering that provides access to a database without requiring the setup of physical hardware, the installation of software or the need to configure the database.
DataBricks - DataBricks is an organization and big data processing platform founded by the creators of Apache Spark.
decoupled architecture - In general, a decoupled architecture is a framework for complex work that allows components to remain completely autonomous and unaware of each other.
dedicated cloud - A dedicated cloud is a single-tenant cloud infrastructure, which essentially acts as an isolated, single-tenant public cloud.
deep analytics - Deep analytics is the application of sophisticated data processing techniques to yield information from large and typically multi-source data sets comprised of both unstructured and semi-structured data.
desktop as a service (DaaS) - Desktop as a service (DaaS) is a cloud computing offering in which a third party hosts the back end of a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) deployment.
DigitalOcean - DigitalOcean Inc.
Docker image - A Docker image is a file used to execute code in a Docker container.
Docker Swarm - Docker Swarm is a container orchestration tool for clustering and scheduling Docker containers.
end-user computing (EUC) - End-user computing (EUC) is a term that refers to the technologies that IT professionals use to deploy, manage and secure the devices, applications and data that workers require to perform their jobs.
Exchange Online - Exchange Online is the hosted version of Microsoft's Exchange Server messaging platform that organizations can obtain as a stand-alone service or via an Office 365 subscription.
Fujitsu Ltd. - Fujitsu Ltd.
function as a service (FaaS) - Function as a service (FaaS) is a cloud computing model that enables cloud customers to develop applications and deploy functionalities and only be charged when the functionality executes.
G-Cloud (Government Cloud) - G-Cloud (Government Cloud) is a U.
Google App Engine - Google App Engine (GAE) is a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) product that enables web app developers and enterprises to build, deploy and host scalable, high-performance applications in Google's fully managed cloud environment without having to worry about infrastructure provisioning or management.
Google BigQuery - Google BigQuery is a cloud-based big data analytics web service for processing very large read-only data sets.
Google ChromeOS - Google ChromeOS, formerly Chrome OS, is a lightweight operating system (OS) built on ChromiumOS, an open source OS that shares the same code base as ChromeOS.
Google Cloud - Google Cloud is a suite of public cloud computing services offered by Google.
Google Cloud Anthos - Google Cloud Anthos is a hybrid, cloud-agnostic container environment.
Google Cloud Coldline Storage - Google Cloud Coldline Storage is a public cloud cold storage service for infrequently accessed data.
Google Cloud Composer - Cloud Composer is a managed workflow orchestration service that is built on Apache Airflow.
Google Cloud Nearline Storage - Google Cloud Nearline Storage is a public cloud storage service from Google intended for storing infrequently accessed data.
Google Cloud operations (formerly Stackdriver) - Google Stackdriver was a monitoring service that provided IT teams with performance data about applications and virtual machines (VMs) running on the Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and Amazon Web Services public cloud.
Google Cloud Storage - Google Cloud Storage is an enterprise public cloud storage platform that can house large unstructured data sets.
Google Compute Engine - Google Compute Engine (GCE) is an infrastructure as a service (IaaS) offering that allows clients to run workloads on Google's physical hardware.
Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) - Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) is a managed Kubernetes service for containers and container clusters running on Google Cloud infrastructure.
green cloud - Green cloud refers to the potential environmental benefits that green IT services delivered over the internet can offer to individual companies and society as a whole.
grid computing - Grid computing is a system for connecting a large number of computer nodes into a distributed architecture that delivers the compute resources necessary to solve complex problems.
guest virtual machine (guest VM) - A guest virtual machine (VM) is the software component of a VM, an independent instance of an operating system (OS), called a guest OS, and its associated software and information.
Hadoop - Hadoop is an open source distributed processing framework that manages data processing and storage for big data applications in scalable clusters of computer servers.
headless system - A headless system is a computer that operates without a monitor, graphical user interface (GUI) or the typical peripherals used to control it, such as a keyboard and mouse.
homomorphic encryption - Homomorphic encryption is the conversion of data into ciphertext that can be analyzed and worked with as if it were still in its original form.
hosted virtual desktop (HVD) - A hosted virtual desktop (HVD) is a user interface that connects to applications and data that are stored on a cloud provider's servers rather than on the user's computer or the corporate network.
hybrid cloud architecture - Hybrid cloud architecture is a type of cloud computing architecture that combines public cloud, private cloud and on-premises resources.
hybrid cloud management - Hybrid cloud management characterizes the processes and tools for managing applications that span public and private cloud computing infrastructure.
hybrid cloud security - Hybrid cloud security is the combination of technologies and practices that protect a hybrid cloud user's sensitive data, infrastructure and applications.
hybrid cloud storage - Hybrid cloud storage is an approach to managing cloud storage that uses both local and off-site resources.
hybrid IT - Hybrid IT is an approach to enterprise computing in which an organization provides and manages some information technology (IT) resources in-house but uses cloud-based services for others.
IBM Cloud (formerly IBM Bluemix and IBM SoftLayer) - IBM Cloud is a suite of cloud computing services from IBM that offers both platform as a service (PaaS) and infrastructure as a service (IaaS).
iCloud - Apple's free iCloud service stores subscribers' photos, videos, documents, apps and more and updates everything across users' synced devices.
integration as a service (IaaS) - Integration as a service (IaaS) is a cloud-based delivery model that strives to connect on-premises data with data located in cloud-based applications.
internet of things (IoT) - The internet of things, or IoT, is a network of interrelated devices that connect and exchange data with other IoT devices and the cloud.
Jitterbit - Jitterbit is a commercial software integration product that facilitates transport between legacy, enterprise, and on-demand computing applications.
Kubernetes - Kubernetes, also referred to as K8s for the number of letters between K and S, is an open source platform used to manage containerized applications across private, public and hybrid cloud environments.
lift and shift - Lift and shift is a strategy for moving an application or operation from one environment to another without stopping to redesign the app's or operation's workflow.
managed hosting - Managed hosting is an IT provisioning model in which a service provider leases dedicated servers and associated hardware to a single customer and manages those systems on the customer's behalf.
metered services (pay-per-use) - Metered services (also called pay-per-use) are any type of payment structure in which a customer has access to potentially unlimited resources but only pays for what they actually use.
Microsoft Azure Data Lake - Microsoft Azure Data Lake is a highly scalable public cloud service that allows developers, scientists, business professionals and other Microsoft customers to gain insight from large, complex data sets.
Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute - Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute is a service that provides a private connection between an organization's on-premises infrastructure and Microsoft Azure data centers.
Microsoft Azure Functions - Azure Functions is a serverless computing service, hosted on the Microsoft Azure public cloud, that streamlines the development of systems and applications.
Microsoft Azure Marketplace - The Microsoft Azure Marketplace is an online store that offers applications and services either built on or designed to integrate with Microsoft's public cloud.
Microsoft Azure monitoring tools - Azure monitoring tools are software meant to assist in the different aspects of cloud infrastructure management and monitoring, centering around Microsoft’s cloud computing platform, Azure.
Microsoft Azure Security Center - Microsoft Azure Security Center is a set of tools and services for securing virtual machines that run on the Azure public cloud.
Microsoft Azure Stack - Microsoft Azure Stack is an integrated platform of hardware and software that delivers Microsoft Azure public cloud services in a local data center to enable organizations to construct hybrid clouds.
Microsoft Intune - Microsoft Intune is a cloud-based unified endpoint management (UEM) tool that aims to help organizations manage the mobile devices employees use to access corporate data and applications, such as email.
Microsoft Office 365 suite - Microsoft Office 365 suite is a hosted, online version of Microsoft Office software.
mobile cloud - The mobile cloud is Internet-based data, applications and related services accessed through smartphones, laptop computers, tablets and other portable devices.
MuleSoft - MuleSoft is a Salesforce company that provides numerous tools to build automations and integrations for various enterprise use cases.
multi-tenant cloud - A multi-tenant cloud is a cloud computing architecture that allows customers to share computing resources in a public or private cloud.
noisy neighbor (cloud computing performance) - Noisy neighbor is a phrase that describes a cloud computing infrastructure co-tenant that monopolizes bandwidth, disk I/O, CPU and other resources which can negatively affect other users' cloud performance.
NoOps (no operations) - NoOps (no operations) is a concept that an IT environment can become so automated and abstracted from the underlying infrastructure that there's no need for a dedicated team to manage software in-house.
Nutanix - Nutanix is a private and hybrid cloud software provider.
on-demand computing (ODC) - On-demand computing (ODC) is a delivery model in which computing resources are made available to the user as needed.
Open Grid Services Architecture (OGSA) - The Open Grid Services Architecture (OGSA) is a set of standards defining the way in which information is shared among diverse components of large, heterogeneous grid systems.
Open Virtualization Format (OVF) - The Open Virtualization Format (OVF) is an open source standard for packaging and distributing software applications and services for virtual machines (VMs).
OpenStack - OpenStack is a collection of open source software modules and tools that provides organizations with a framework to create and manage both public cloud and private cloud infrastructure.
Oracle Cloud - Oracle Cloud is a subscription-based public cloud services offering from database company Oracle.
Oracle Customer Experience Cloud (Oracle CX Cloud) - Oracle Customer Experience Cloud (Oracle CX Cloud) is a suite of cloud-based tools for customer relationship management (CRM), sales, marketing, customer service, e-commerce and other tools, such as configure, price, quote (CPQ) tools.
pay-as-you-go cloud computing (PAYG cloud computing) - Pay-as-you-go cloud computing (PAYG cloud computing) is a payment method for cloud computing that charges based on usage.
PC as a service (PCaaS) - PC as a service (PCaaS) is a device lifecycle management model in which an organization pays a monthly subscription fee to lease endpoint hardware and management services from a vendor.
personal cloud storage (PCS) - Personal cloud storage (PCS) is a local network-attached storage (NAS) device that lets users store data, photos, music, videos and other files and is optimized for media streaming.
portable application - A portable application (portable app) is a software product designed to be easily moved from one computing environment to another.
private cloud storage (internal cloud storage) - Private cloud storage, also called internal cloud storage, is a service delivery model for storage within a large enterprise.
private platform as a service (private PaaS) - Private platform as a service (private PaaS) is software that facilitates development, deployment and operations for IT on a private infrastructure or behind a firewall.
provisioning - In the context of IT and computing, provisioning refers to the process of setting up IT infrastructure and providing access to authorized users to the various resources that are part of the infrastructure.
public cloud storage - Public cloud storage, also called online storage, is a service model that provides data storage on a pay-per-use basis.
SaaS ERP - SaaS ERP is a type of cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) software that runs on the vendor's or cloud provider's servers, is sold through subscription and delivered as a service over the internet.
Salesforce - Salesforce, Inc.
SAP Analytics Cloud - SAP Analytics Cloud (or SAP Cloud for Analytics) is a software as a service (SaaS) business intelligence (BI) platform designed by SAP.
SAP Cloud Platform - SAP Cloud Platform (SCP) is a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) product that provides a development and runtime environment for cloud applications.
serverless computing - Serverless computing is a cloud computing execution model that lets software developers build and run applications and servers without having to provision or manage the back-end infrastructure.
sharding - Sharding is a type of database partitioning that separates large databases into smaller, faster, more easily managed parts.
single-tenancy - Single-tenancy is an architecture in which a single instance of a software application and supporting infrastructure serves one customer.
SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud) - SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud) is the concept that the convergence of four technologies is currently driving business innovation.
software-defined perimeter (SDP) - A software-defined perimeter, or SDP, is a security technique that controls access to resources based on identity and forms a virtual boundary around networked resources.
SPI model - The SPI model is an abbreviation of the most common cloud computing service models: software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and infrastructure as a service (IaaS).
stateless app - A stateless app is an application program that does not save client data generated in one session for use in the next session with that client.
subscription-based pricing model - A subscription-based pricing model is a payment structure that allows a customer or organization to purchase or subscribe to a vendor's IT services for a specific period of time for a set price.
Testing as a Service (TaaS) - Testing as a service (TaaS) is an outsourcing model in which testing activities associated with some of an organization's business activities are performed by a service provider rather than in-house employees.
The Boomi Platform - The Boomi Platform, previously known as Boomi AtomSphere, is a low-code and cloud-native integrated Platform as a Service (iPaaS).
TOSCA (Topology and Orchestration Specification for Cloud Applications) - The Topology and Orchestration Specification for Cloud Applications (TOSCA) is an open source language used to describe the relationships and dependencies between services and applications that reside on a cloud computing platform.
unified computing system (UCS) - A unified computing system (UCS) is a converged data center architecture that integrates computing, networking and storage resources to increase efficiency and enable centralized management.
usage-based pricing - Usage-based pricing is a consumption-based pricing model in which customers are charged only when they use a product or service.